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Helinski, of Owasco, was interviewed for author Brad Balukjian's new book, "." The book details Balukjian's travels to meet his pro wrestling heroes, including Hulk Hogan, Sgt. Slaughter and The Iron Sheik. 

Balukjian told ÈËÊÞÐÔ½» that he sought to learn more about the people behind the characters and the challenges they faced. He highlighted Tony Atlas, who encountered racism while breaking into pro wrestling, and The Iron Sheik's well-documented struggle with drug addiction. 

"I was able to appreciate the sacrifice that they made in choosing this profession and entertain the fans," Balukjian said, "and also it was really fascinating for me to try to understand from each guy where the line was between their real identity and their character." 

While working on the book, Balukjian's journey brought him to the Auburn area. He met with Helinski, who worked for WWE — then known as WWF — in the mid-1980s. Some of the stories Helinski shared are included in "The Six Pack." 

Growing up in western New York, Helinski was a pro wrestling fan. He watched pro wrestling with his dad and joined the neighborhood kids in trying to replicate the moves they saw on TV. 

Helinski pursued a career in journalism and ÈËÊÞÐÔ½» hired him as a sports reporter in 1982. The following year, the sports department received a press release announcing that a WWF show would be held at Cayuga Community College. 

Motivated by his pro wrestling fandom and interest in the event, Helinski called Titan Sports, WWF's parent company, and spoke with Ed Cohen, who booked events for WWF. Cohen initially said they weren't interested in "outside publicity," Helinski recalled, before he agreed to allow ÈËÊÞÐÔ½» to cover the show. Cohen had one request: He wanted Helinski to mail him the story after it was published. 

When the WWF arrived in Auburn, the college's gymnasium was "packed to the rafters," Helinski said. He wrote a story and Steve Taylor, a photographer with ÈËÊÞÐÔ½», took photos that were featured in the Sunday newspaper. Helinski sent a copy of his story and the photo page to Cohen. 

A few days later, Cohen called Helinski to gauge his and Taylor's interest in interviewing for jobs with WWF. The company was starting a national magazine and needed an editor and chief photographer.

Helinski and Taylor flew to Cape Cod for the interviews. One of the interviewers was Linda McMahon, a longtime WWE executive and the wife of Vince McMahon. Helinski and Taylor were hired that day. They left ÈËÊÞÐÔ½» and began working for WWF on July 31, 1983. Their first show was at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

"You're going to the mecca of professional wrestling," Helinski said. "It was insane." 

Helinski lasted a year as the WWF Magazine's editor before he was moved to marketing and merchandising. In 1985, he was working for the promotion when it launched WrestleMania. 

WrestleMania I was held at Madison Square Garden and broadcast on closed-circuit television. In those days, pro wrestling struggled to achieve mainstream acceptance. That changed with WrestleMania, which included appearances by Muhammad Ali, Liberace, former New York Yankees manager Billy Martin and the Rockettes. 

Helinski had fifth-row seats for the event. Billy Crystal, the famed comedian, sat behind him. 

"The place was electric," Helinski recalled. "The party afterward at the Rainbow Room atop 30 Rock was really good. You just sat back and said, 'Wow.' There was always that talk if it didn't succeed, the company would go under, which has proven to be not true. It did extremely well." 

Helinski's tenure at WWF included two more WrestleManias. WrestleMania II was unique because it was held in three locations — he attended the the show at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum on Long Island. 

His last WrestleMania as a WWF employee was WrestleMania III headlined by Andre the Giant and Hulk Hogan at the Pontiac Silverdome. They sold $550,000 worth of merchandise that day — more than $1 million in today's dollars — and bootleggers were being kicked out of the parking lots. 

For WrestleMania III, Helinski sat in then-Detroit Pistons owner Bill Davidson's suite. 

"If you ever met Bill Davidson, you wouldn't know that he was a very rich man and owner," Helinski said. "He was amazed by the amount of people in the Silverdome and he thought we were big shots with the WWE. We didn't disappoint him. We played the part." 

Not long after that WrestleMania, Helinski had a decision to make. He had worked for WWF for nearly four years. He was also engaged. He could've settled with his wife in Connecticut, but he wouldn't have been around much due to the travel demands of his job. He chose to leave the company, but admitted that he was "probably a little too loud about doing it." 

"When you work for Vince McMahon, you are a commodity," Helinski said. "You're used until you're not needed. You have a finite shelf life. The problem is you don't know what the shelf life is. 

"Working for Vince was very satisfying, but also very irritating. He was always on the go, probably 18 to 20 hours a day, seven days a week. He was eating, breathing, sleeping this stuff and he expected his people to do so — except he didn't want to pay them. It becomes a grind." 

What Helinski says is what Balukjian learned while writing his book — that the wrestlers who stayed in the business paid a price. The adulation from fans and the roar of the crowds was their drug, Helinski says. 

"They got sucked in by it," he continued. "They had to come back for more." 

Helinski maintains friendships that began 40 years ago when he worked for WWF. One of those friends is WWE Hall of Famer Sgt. Slaughter, who has visited Helinski while making appearances in central New York. 

Although his tenure with WWF made it difficult to land journalism jobs after he exited the pro wrestling business, Helinski said he doesn't regret his time in what he described as "the circus." 

"I feel very fortunate," he said. "I was in the right place at the right time."